RANZCP welcomes the Australian Government’s ratification of the OPCAT

19 December 2017

The Royal Australian and New Zealand College of Psychiatrists (RANZCP) welcomes the Australian Government’s ratification of the Conventions against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (OPCAT).

The OPACT is a system designed to improve oversight of places of detention, including immigration detention facilities, prisons, juvenile detention centres, and various psychiatric facilities, through regular visits to these facilities undertaken by independent international and national bodies.

The RANZCP has advocated for the ratification of the OPCAT for many years, and considers the OPCAT an important safeguard for the mental health of people in detention facilities.

For more information on the ratification of the Conventions against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhumane or Degrading Treatment or Punishment see